levo

Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88

  • 12 subtopics
  • 35 things to know
  • Paper 2 booklet B
  • Paper 2, one British depth study of four

What Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88 covers

Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88 is examined in Paper 2, Period study and British depth study. It covers Anglo-Saxon government, economy and society, the last years of Edward the Confessor and the succession crisis, the rival claimants for the throne, the Norman invasion, 1060–66, Establishing control, 1066–87, Anglo-Saxon resistance, 1068–71, the legacy of resistance to 1087, revolt of the Earls, 1075, the feudal system and the Church, Norman government, 1066–88, the Norman aristocracy, 1066–88 and William I and the succession.

Where it is assessed

Paper 2 booklet B

British depth study, 20% of the GCSE, one option of four.

Check the Pearson Edexcel specification ↗

The 12 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Numbers

What were the human, economic and reputational costs of the Harrying of the North?

Key term

What were the main features of royal government in England under William I?

Key term

How did Anglo-Saxon resistance to William develop between 1068 and 1069?

Key term

What powers made the English monarchy strong by 1060?

Key term

Why was Waltheof punished more harshly than Roger de Breteuil?

Key term

Why did Harold Godwinson go to Normandy in 1064?

Numbers

When was Harold Godwinson crowned, and why so quickly?

Key term

How were the two armies drawn up at the start of the Battle of Hastings?

Key term

Who submitted to William in 1066, and what did they get in return?

Key term

What was labour service?

Key term

What language did the Norman aristocracy speak, and what did that mean for England?

Key term

What sort of man do contemporary writers describe William I as being?

Key term

What was the Witan?

Key term

Why did the Northumbrians rise against Tostig in 1065?

Key term

What happened at the Battle of Gate Fulford in September 1066?

Key term

What was the shield wall, and why was it so hard to break?

Key term

What were the Marcher earldoms, and where were they?

Numbers

Why did Earls Edwin and Morcar revolt in 1068?

Key term

Why did William order the Harrying of the North in 1069–70?

Key term

Which three earls led the revolt of 1075?

Key term

What was forfeiture, and why did it hold the whole system together?

Key term

Which parts of English government did William keep after 1066?

Key term

Which language were royal documents written in under William?

Numbers

How did Robert Curthose's revolt against his father end?

Key term

Which four great earldoms divided England in 1060?

Key term

How did the rising against Tostig end?

Key term

What happened when part of the Norman army fled early in the Battle of Hastings?

Key term

What were the main features of an early Norman castle?

Key term

How was the revolt of Edwin and Morcar put down?

Key term

What did the Harrying of the North involve?

Key term

What did the rebel earls plan to do?

Who and when

Who was Stigand, and why was he a problem for William?

Key term

What was the Oath of Salisbury of 1086?

Key term

How did Norman taste change the look of England?

Key term

How were William’s lands divided when he died?

Take Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88 further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

  • Witan vs Fyrd

    Witan: the council of leading earls, thegns and churchmen that advised the king. Fyrd: the army of English men called out to fight for the king.

  • Motte vs Bailey

    Motte: the earth mound topped by a wooden keep. Bailey: the walled enclosure below the mound holding stables and stores.

  • Battle of Gate Fulford vs Battle of Stamford Bridge

    Battle of Gate Fulford: Hardrada's victory over Edwin and Morcar outside York. Battle of Stamford Bridge: Harold's defeat of the Norwegians, killing Hardrada and Tostig.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What powers made the English monarchy strong by 1060?

    Model answer

    The king led the army, issued the law codes and the coinage, granted land to his nobles and raised the geld tax from the whole kingdom.

  2. 2

    What was the Witan?

    Model answer

    A council of leading earls, thegns and churchmen that advised the king and had a say in choosing his successor.

  3. 3

    Which four great earldoms divided England in 1060?

    Model answer

    Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria and East Anglia.

  4. 4

    How was England governed below the level of the earls?

    Model answer

    Each shire was split into hundreds, both with their own regular courts, and a shire reeve acted for the king in collecting his dues and enforcing his law.

  5. 5

    How did an Anglo-Saxon court decide a case when there was no clear evidence?

    Model answer

    The accused swore his innocence with oath-helpers, and if that failed he faced trial by ordeal, in which God was believed to reveal guilt.

  6. 6

    What was a thegn, and what did he owe for his land?

    Model answer

    A local lord who held land from the king or an earl and owed military service and attendance at his lord’s court in return.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88
British America, 1713–83: Empire and Revolution
Conflict in the Middle East, 1945–95
Crime and Punishment in Britain, c1000–present

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

£6.6 , fixed in 1921.
billionmillionthousand

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AThe huge loss of life left England short of workers.
BForeign craftsmen and labourers were wanted.
CCompetition for work also bred resentment.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Strategy means the plan for a whole campaign.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88 revision questions

What does Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88 cover in Edexcel GCSE History?
12 subtopics: anglo-saxon government, economy and society, the last years of edward the confessor and the succession crisis, the rival claimants for the throne, the norman invasion, 1060–66, establishing control, 1066–87, anglo-saxon resistance, 1068–71, the legacy of resistance to 1087, revolt of the earls, 1075, the feudal system and the church, norman government, 1066–88, the norman aristocracy, 1066–88 and william i and the succession. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88 organised?
By the Edexcel 1HI0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

Every question in Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.